"When Alexander the Great saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer."

Saturday night in the main event at UFC on FX 7, had Michael Bisping beaten Belfort in Brazil, he would have earned a shot at Anderson the Great. But Bisping lost, and the man who beat him will not get a title shot, as Belfort lost to Silva in 2011, definitively. Belfort didn't even ask for it; instead he fiercely shouted for a rematch with Jon Jones. But that is another story.

So who is next for UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva?

Chris Weidman
(+) Weidman is the #1 contender by most accounts.
(-) Weidman is recovering from surgery with an anticipated mid 2012 return; Summer however is when Silva said he wants to fight again. Weidman yet lacks name recogntion sufficient to excite Silva, who retains the power to just say no.

Luke Rockhold
(+) Strikeforce middleweight champion; bout would be billed as champion vs. champion.
(-) Not widely known to the general UFC fan base. Might be best for him to have a UFC fight first.

Rashad Evans
(+) Massive name recognition. Fights Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156 on Feb. 2, and might drop to 185 thereafter.
(-) Started in the UFC at Heavyweight. If he beats Lil Nog, can he make 185?

Hector Lombard
(+) Had an unparalleled 28 fight win streak.
(-) Lost to Tim Boetsch, who in turn lost his next fight, to Costas Philippou. Fights Yushin Okami at UFC on FUEL TV 8, and will likely have to win one or two more to qualify.

Georges St-Pierre
(+) SUPERFIGHT
(-) GSP has to beat Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in March first, and then move up a division, a move he says would be permanent.

Jon Jones
(+) SUPER SUPERFIGHT
(-) Silva don't want to.

A light heavyweight
(+) Silva has moved up to light heavyweight before for fan pleasing paydays.
(-) Silva's legacy is at Middleweight.

Chael Sonnen
(+) Sonnen doubtless thinks a rubbermatch is in order, once he gets by Jon Jones.
(-) Winning every second of every round until you don't is not a W.
(--) Jon Jones.

So who does Silva fight next? The Spider summed it up best on the UFC on FX 7 post-fight show on FUEL TV.

Although he has said repeatedly he wants a superfight with GSP, when asked Saturday, Silva honestly replied "I don't know."

UFC president Dana White knows what he wants - a GSP vs. Silva superfight at Middleweight on PPV in July from Vegas or even Cowboys Stadium.

The UG wants a fight this Summer with Weidman, and dreams of a Jon Jones super superfight.

Who do you think Anderson the Great will fight next? And who do you want?

The two best options imo are Rockhold or Weidman. The problem with Weidman is he is coming off surgery, and may need a fight first. The only other person I could see is Rashad but I would like to see him get a fight at 185 to see how the cut goes before putting him in with Anderson.

Didn't he say he only has a few left? If so, I want the super fights if we are picking here! VS GSP first and then Jones. If he is fighting at MW again, I would like Weidman but that should be before Jones so when he fights Jones he doesn't have to think about going back down in weight.

But that is fantasy land. Who will he most likely fight? Whoever is healthy and willing when Joe Silva gives the call and I have no idea who that will be. I would enjoy the storyline of Rockhold, champ vs champ but then again I have been calling for cross promotional fights for a while. Again, boxing does it all the time so don't think MMA cannot, DFW just doesn't want to.

Anybody with an above average IQ knows that Anderson's just **** around media guys and in actually he just doesn't wanna end Jones, because he can and he will, but there's Machida and Lil Nog in there.

Machida could get the next crack IF he beats Hendo, Lil Nog can as well if he beats Rashad + maybe winner of Gustafsson-Musassi. What happens if Anderson beats Jones NOW before those stuff happens?

I guarantee everybody on the planet that when Machida and Lil Nog aren't in the title picture anymore, Anderson would lay waste to Jones.

I don't understand why people think Chris Weidman is a contender. He beat Mark Munoz, that's it. There is a collapsible list of middleweights that could do the exact same thing that Weidman did to Munoz. Other than that he went to a decision with Maia. Like seriously, WTF? Weidman is so far from a title shot it's ridiculous. Yet a lot of people think he's the greatest thing since Bruce Lee! Shouldn't he have to prove himself before being mentioned in the same sentence as a guy like Anderson Silva?

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